Unreal plugin source machine settings
- Adaptavist ScriptRunner for Confluence Cloud (Unlicensed)
- Gisela Roberts
This page describes the Unreal plugin source machine settings.
For an overview of how to set up streaming from your Vicon software, see:
As described in the above sections, before you can stream data from Vicon software into Unreal Engine, you need to set up Live Link in Unreal Engine. During this plugin setup, you can configure how to stream data.
The settings are slightly different for manually finding a server and when using the Auto-discover server feature. The following sections describe the different settings.
Settings for manually finding a server
The following settings are available when you manually find a server:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Vicon Server Name | Enter the IP address or hostname of the Vicon PC. For information on connecting two routers, see Multi-route connection. |
| Port Number | The port number you use determines what data can be streamed. The type of data you can stream also varies based on the software you are using. For Shogun, set the Port Number to one of the following:
For Tracker or Evoke, set the Port Number to one of the following:
|
| Use PreFetch | Select this option if WiFi performance is poor or if multi-route connection is not possible. PreFetch enables you to pre-request a frame of data, as opposed to the standard datastream mode of Push (which means data is always being sent). This reduces the size of latency spikes caused by unstable network connections. Evoke users: Do not select this option if you're using a version of Evoke earlier than 1.1.2. |
| Is Retimed | Select this option to provide the subject data at a different rate from the Vicon system rate, so that it matches the rate of the engine. It does this via interpolation and forward prediction of samples. |
| Offset | If Is Retimed is selected, you can specify (in milliseconds) the amount of prediction that the retiming client will use, dependent on latency time from the Vicon server to client application. 0–3 ms is recommended (the default is 0.0). Before entering a value, note that forward prediction may cause the following issues:
|
| Log Output | If selected, log files are saved in a .csv format, in the <project root>/Saved/Logs folder. This lets you review the data that is being received. |
| Subject Filter | If you need to reduce the amount of data sent over the network, select this option so only the subjects named in this field are passed from the Vicon datastream into Unreal Engine. Enter one or more subject names, separating multiple names with a comma. Subjects that are not named in the Subject Filter field do not appear in the Subject List in the LiveLink panel. Note: Lens role subjects still appear, even if they have been filtered. |
Settings when using the Auto-discover feature
The following settings are available when you use the Auto-discover feature:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Server Name | Vicon Software with version and PC name. |
| Server Type | The port number determines what data can be streamed. The type of data you can stream also varies based on the software you are using. When using Auto-discover, you cannot change the port number. The following server types are listed here as a reference for the type of data you can stream. For Shogun, the server types are:
For Tracker or Evoke, set the server types are:
|
| Use PreFetch | Select this option if WiFi performance is poor or if multi-route connection is not possible. PreFetch enables you to pre-request a frame of data, as opposed to the standard datastream mode of Push (which means data is always being sent). This reduces the size of latency spikes caused by unstable network connections. Evoke users: Do not select this option if you're using a version of Evoke that is earlier than 1.1.2. |
| Is Retimed | Select this option to provide the subject data at a different rate from the Vicon system rate, so that it matches the rate of the engine. It does this via interpolation and forward prediction of samples. |
| Offset | If Is Retimed is selected, you can specify (in milliseconds) the amount of prediction that the retiming client will use, dependent on latency time from the Vicon server to client application. 0–3 ms is recommended (the default is 0.0). Before entering a value, note that forward prediction may cause the following issues:
|
| Log Output | If selected, log files are saved in a .csv format, in the <project root>/Saved/Logs folder. This lets you review the data that is being received. |
| Subject Filter | If you need to reduce the amount of data sent over the network, select this option so only the subjects named in this field are passed from the Vicon datastream into Unreal Engine. Enter one or more subject names, separating multiple names with a comma. Subjects that are not named in the Subject Filter field do not appear in the Subject List in the LiveLink panel. Note: Lens role subjects still appear, even if they have been filtered. |
Multi-route connection
Multi-route is a data streaming mode that enables you to simultaneously connect two routers (using two different WiFi channels) to create redundancy in the WiFi network. The client then uses whichever frame arrives first from either connection.
Multi-route connection is useful for latency-critical applications such as VR. It is the recommended solution for very busy WiFi environments or for when routers/access points experience interference. It ensures a robust and low-latency stream of Vicon data to the client application.
For busy WiFi environments that experience interference or latency-critical applications, such as VR streaming, multi-route connection can dramatically improve performance.
To use multi-route connection:
- In the Vicon Server Name field, enter the IP address of the first adapter on the Vicon machine, followed by a semi-colon, and then the address of the second adapter.
- In the Port Number field, enter either 801 (for Tracker) or 804 (Evoke or Shogun).
- To create the connection, click Create.
- To check that your connection has been successful, in Unreal Engine 5, on the Window tab, click Output Log and review the results.
